“Hot Dog” Is Comedy Gold In A Single Shotwhatweseee

/ THE ARTS

Comedy And Cinematic Technique Come Together With “Hot Dog”

It’s difficult to pull off a single-shot film without it feeling laboured or stilted — and it’s even more difficult if that film is a comedy. When timing is of the essence, dealing with a single shot can feel like an impossible maze. But not for Patrick Muhlberger. In “Hot Dog”, he proves that this technique can still lead to comedy gold.

With a wide ensemble cast, a frenetic energy, and everything from lying on your Tinder bio to street fighting thrown into the mix, this film is a lot. In fact, you could call it an exercise in contained chaos.

“I wanted the camera to be subjective and as active as the characters in the scene,” Muhlberger explains. “We decided that Matt (Elisha Yaffe) was a beehive, and everything else was a bee buzzing around him. At least that’s my artsy justification. In the moment, I was probably just yelling ‘spin more, spin more!’ at the Steadicam op.”

You can see the whole short here:

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It’s definitely a technical feat — but it’s also an artistic one. Creating a short that’s silly, playful, and full of energy — while being technically precise and beautifully shot — is no easy feat. But when it’s done right, it’s alchemy.